


it's been a long time now

by asteronomic



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, Post-Canon, Reunions, Weddings, idk - Freeform, in my head this is called "sorry im late I didn't want to come" bc i am a meme, pretentious af but also kind of cute, super gay, too many tags whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 23:06:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3306722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asteronomic/pseuds/asteronomic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[And yet your smile is as bright as ever.]<br/>Single moments can change lifetimes, but lifetimes can't create single moments like these.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's been a long time now

Unlike the others, Midorima and Takao never actually part ways. They're there, by each other's sides, as they take the Winter Cup in their third year, as they graduate from high school, as they share a flat in university. Midorima is busy striving for the top in his field, while Takao forces himself through lecture after lecture, exam after exam. There are days when Takao wants to tell his stubborn boyfriend to _just take a break, Shin-chan_ , _please_ , and there are nights when Midorima says, "Take the evening off, Kazunari, it's not good for your health to spend so much time studying."

_

Years later, they sit on top of their world.

The sun is setting over the city, and they’re on a balcony with a view of what seems like all of Tokyo and beyond. A box sits in the palm of Midorima's outstretched hand, and his voice shakes as he tries to explain that the ceremony will take place overseas, that he thought Takao would want it to be legal somewhere in the world, that they both speak pretty decent English and that Midorima knows someone who knows someone else whose cousin's cousin owns a small castle in Scotland. The sunlight illuminates the smile and the tears running down Takao's face when he says, "Of course, Shin-chan. Of course I will marry you."

_ _

Tatsuya says his farewells at the end of his third year, as he's packing his bags for the last time and boarding a plane back to America. Atsushi bites his lip as he watches him go.

_

Atsushi leaves school, leaves Japan and leaves basketball behind. He takes a job in a quaint little café in central Paris, which allows him time to study at an overpriced culinary school nearby. His French isn't bad, and only gets better, and he even takes to working behind the counter on good days.

"Hello," he says to a customer. "Can I help you?"

"Atsushi?"

_

Tatsuya studies Economics in university. He's good at it, and his English hasn't gone to ruin during his time spent in Japan, either. In the summer following his second year, he drags himself around Europe, following his overly-keen (surrogate) brother with a weary sigh. He likes Germany, he decides. Spain is too hot, and England too grey. France is nice, but the language passes right over his head. The food is good, and Taiga is in his element, so Tatsuya drops him off at a classy restaurant and leaves him to it.

He wanders into a small café at some point, searches for his phrase book and prepares to stumble through some questionable French.

" _Bonjour. Est-ce-que je peux vous aider?_ "

Tatsuya's words die on his lips as he looks up into a mop of lavender hair. "Atsushi?"

_ _

Kuroko isn't expecting to see Kagami again after he moves to America. He says his goodbyes, gives his best wishes and buries himself in piles upon piles of work. He emerges as one of the best in his class, finds himself a job and does his best to forget his ex-teammate. He’s pretty confident that he’s succeeded. A pair of basketball shoes that lie unused in the back of his wardrobe beg to differ.

_

Five years after finishing high school, Kagami lives alone in his small Brooklyn apartment. He still works for the area's fire department, with a touch of not-so-professional basketball on the side. Tatsuya has moved to France, his parents live in LA, and all his high school friends are back in Japan.

He's not about to admit that he's lonely--because he's _not_ , honestly--but he's not really satisfied with his life at the present, either.

_

Neither of them are expecting it when they manage to walk right into each other.

Kuroko is holding--or rather, nearly dropping--a cardboard box. His lack of presence hasn't improved in the slightest, yet Kagami is almost surprised when he realises that he had no idea Kuroko was there. Kuroko looks surprised, and then a familiarly blank look replaces the expression as he excuses himself and continues making his way down the long halls of the building, adjusting the position of his large cardboard box.

"Wait--Kuroko--" Kagami begins. Kuroko turns, peering at him over the box. "Do you--would you like some help with that?"

"I think I'll be fine, thank you," Kuroko replies, and although the words themselves aren't necessarily spoken unkindly, there's a sense of detachment that pains Kagami a little.

Kuroko moves to leave again, and Kagami can't hold his tongue. "I'm sorry," he blurts out. "I'm really sorry."

"For what?" Kuroko asks, and it sounds more like a test than an inquiry.

"For going to America, for leaving you behind, for not keeping in contact... I'm sorry, Kuroko."

Kuroko looks at him for a long moment, then sighs. "I'm sorry, too."

"For what?" Kagami asks, and for him, it really is a inquiry.

"For not telling you how much I would miss you, Kagami-kun," Kuroko says with a sad smile, and turns to walk away.

"Wait!" Kagami says quickly. Kuroko halts. "Would you--I'm back in Japan to stay now, so would you--?"

Although Kagami can't see his face, Kuroko's tone tells him that he's smiling as he replies.

"Yes, Kagami-kun," he says. "I would love to have dinner with you sometime."

_ _

Kise and Aomine are the on-and-off couple of the group. Since Kise confronted Aomine with his feelings in their last year of high school, seven years and countless periods of sickeningly sweet relationships followed by increasingly painful breakups have passed. The majority of their problems is the time spent away from each other--Aomine works long, regular hours in the police department, while Kise's complicated schedule of flying and the occasional photo shoot leaves him with little time at home.

Emotionally speaking, being together is the most natural thing, and the one that makes the most sense--yet, when the small print seems so difficult, they find themselves stopping and starting like a broken record.

_

Kise finds himself dragging himself out of bed on mornings of awkward hours and insufficient sleep. Looking in the mirror and seeing dark circles and tired eyes isn't the life he had imagined for himself back in high school, and part of him wishes he could just rewind his life and live through the tranquility of his teens.

He's tired, he's sad, and he's the main cause of his unstable relationship with the only man he's ever loved--and he knows, without a doubt, that if his high school self could see him now, he would be disappointed.

_

Aomine is content with his lot in life. Sure, things could be better in terms of his relationship with Kise, but aside from his love life, he's doing pretty well.

And besides, everything seems a million times sweeter on the rare occasions that he comes home to find Kise sitting at his kitchen table.

_

There's a certain week of each month when Kise's workload just seems to increase tenfold, and month is no different. However, there is also a certain week of each month when Kise's modelling career calls for his attention, and he drags himself into the studio, hoping with everything he has that his four hours of sleep is enough to allow him to stay awake in front of the camera. Again, this month is no different.

It’s just that this month, the two happen to fall on the same seven days.

He attempts to rearrange things, and succeeds in dedicating his modelling work to the first three days of the week and leaving his other job for the remaining four, but--

"I am so exhausted," he cries into his phone after his first flight.

"Don't fly the next one, then," Aomine tells him on the other end.

Kise sighs. "I can't do--" he pauses. "You know what? I'm going to do that. I mean, I'll do the next few days, but I'll hand in my resignation or something after that--no, I'll switch to private, maybe, or I could work for a smaller airline--"

"Whatever you go for, chances are it'll seem like a breeze after this week," Aomine points out. "Now go fly your next one, and don't forget to call me when you land wherever you land--France, right?"

"Right," Kise grins. "Paris. I'll talk with my boss after this flight, to give him as much notice as possible--thank you, Aominecchi."

"No problem," Aomine says. "I mean, I didn't really do anything."

_

When Kise finally returns to his flat, now officially a corporate pilot without a job--as opposed to a commercial pilot with too much work--the first thing he does is sleep for approximately twelve hours.

The second thing he does is pick up his phone.

"Aominecchi?" He says, clutching a cup of decaffeinated coffee in his spare hand. "You have tonight off, right?"

_ _

The wedding takes place precisely ten years after their last high school match, one that was incidentally won by Shuutoku. The ceremony is held, as planned, in Scotland--Takao questions whether or not they really need to get married in a castle, but then remembers that Shin-chan is, after all, the biggest romantic he's ever met.

(He's not complaining, either. They fly out a few months before to check that everything is suitable, and Takao swears he's going to cry when Midorima takes his hand and leads him up to the roof and kisses him under the stars.)

It's also the first reunion of all their high school friends--it's the first time everyone has been together all at once, and maybe not just since high school.

Mostly, the stories are old ones. Everyone has smiled at the sweet, romantic tale of how Murasakibara and Himuro met in a café in Paris and fell rapidly in love once again; everyone has grinned at the image of Kagami and Kuroko quite literally bumping into each other and taking things from there; everyone has breathed a sigh of relief as Aomine and Kise have finally settled down.

However, in the past ten years, no one has heard once from Akashi.

Of course, they've all heard of him. They've heard of the young businessman who took the family business from quite successful to most successful; they've heard of the Akashi company in all its millions; they've heard of the prodigy heading for the top and exclusively the top.

However, this surprises no one, and hearing _of_ just isn't quite the same as hearing _from_.

Still, he's there. Twelve minutes late, but present. Wearing a charcoal suit and dark loafers, he manages to stand out from the crowd. He has such a tremendous presence that it's simply _impossible_ not to notice him--an imposing figure if ever there was one.

"Congratulations, Shintarou," he says calmly, as if ten weeks or ten days had passed, as if the last ten years just hadn't happened at all. "Congratulations, Takao-san."

Takao's eyebrows raise at the use of his family name rather than his first name. "Thank you, Akashi-kun," he says politely, glancing at Midorima, who still looks a little baffled that Akashi is here, in Scotland, at their wedding, acting as if it's perfectly normal.

"I trust you have been well?"

"Yes, very well," Takao smiles, glancing at Midorima, who nods stiffly. "And you?"

"I have been fine, thank you," Akashi says, and excuses himself.

"Something," Midorima starts. "Something has changed about Akashi."

Takao shrugs.

_

Akashi's expression flickers during the ceremony. It can barely be called a falter, but it's there.

He catches Midorima's eye first during the reception. It's then that Midorima realises that Akashi's eyes are almost the same colour.

Akashi bites his lip.

"Shintarou, I owe you and the rest of our friends an apology."

_

It's a beautiful wedding. The photos are phenomenal. Six old friends smile happily, and Akashi Seijuurou walks away without the weight of an unspoken apology on his shoulders and with the phone number of someone he met in high school once.

He intends to give Furihata Kouki a ring soon. In every definition of the phrase.

**Author's Note:**

> akashi never forgets a face he likes lmao  
> this is so pretentious i'm so sorry  
> also???line breaks???? what and how  
> i haven't edited this whoops sorry
> 
> title ripped right from beirut's "nantes" bc i'm a hipster who can't title things


End file.
